The Mysterious Stone
by IamtheAuthoress
Summary: Opal Koboi is back! What happens when she kidnaps Artemis with another plan to take over the world? Rated t for torture... mwahahaha!
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer_: _I don't own Artemis Fowl, I'm not even Irish! But Mr. Colfer is so he can deal with the criminal mastermind…_**

Artemis Fowl II was riding in the backseat of his families Bentley, Butler was driving him home from Haven where he was being treated for his Atlantis Complex. He had been sent home with a clean bill of mental health after about six months. He was completely sane.

"Butler, when we get back, would you make me some caviar? The fairies` food is good, and it lacks the pollutants we have, but it is still hospital food and I for one am sick of it."

Butler smiled, "Yes Artemis." He looked back in the rear-view mirror to see the fifteen year old looking at the dark landscape as it went by. It was late and had gotten dark long ago. Butler could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking.

Butler was right, Artemis was thinking. He was thinking about none other than Holly Short. The pair had spent a lot of time together underground. They had become quite close and he was thinking about what would happen now.

_I should invite her over to dinner with my family sometime, _He thought. After much persuasion, he had been allowed to tell the rest of his family about the People. His father, the twins, and of course his mother all knew about the fairies now. They had even met Holly and the rest of his friends when they had come to visit him. Most of the other fairies tried not to make eye contact.

It started to rain. Artemis watched the raindrops streak across the window as the car flew down the road. He saw lightning light up the sky and heard the thunder rumble ominously in the background. It was an average Irish spring storm.

Lightning flashed, and it started raining harder. The road was slick, but Artemis didn`t worry about the speed of the car, Butler was driving after all. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed fairly close to them. It would be loud at Fowl Manor. He thought of Beckett`s irrational fear of storms, and how he always ran to his big brother's room and hid in his bed with him. Somehow, he didn`t think he would mind it now.

The car was suddenly filled with blinding white light. Artemis ducked his head and covered his face with his hands, while Butler used one arm to shield his eyes while the other held onto the steering wheel. In the end it didn't matter that he had held on.

The car collided head-on with something coming towards them very fast. The impact had enough force to send the Bentley flying backwards and ended up upside-down.

The car rolled to a stop in the middle of the road, the bullet proof windows were cracked and the windshield was completely blown out. The air bags were deployed, and both of the occupants were unconscious.

…

Butler woke up in a hospital. There were monitors around him measuring his heart rate and a pulse oximeter was taped to his finger. There was an I.V. pump on his right that was slowly dripping saline into a catheter into his right forearm. His left arm was lying next to him on a pillow and it was in a cast.

A nurse walked into the room and started checking all the monitors.

"How are you feeling sir?" she asked kindly.

"What happened? Where am I?" But as he asked he remembered what had happened.

"You were in a very bad car accident sir. A man drove by and saw you, so he called an ambulance. You are currently in the emergency room at St. Peter's hospital."

"Where is the boy that was in the car with me? Is he okay?"

"I don't know what you're talking about sir; there was no boy with you. The paramedics found you alone in the car. You broke your arm and received a slight concussion so you might be a little confused for a while." Butler couldn't believe it. What had happened to Artemis? Was he okay?

"Do you have my cell phone?" He asked the nurse.

"Yes sir, it's on the table next to you. I'll give you some privacy." She said and walked out of the room.

Butler looked at the time on the phone, almost 4:00 a.m. He sighed. He had been here for almost seven hours. He dialed Juliet's number and waited for her to answer.

"Dom? What happened? Why aren't you here? Everyone was worried when you didn't show up" Juliet said.

"We were in a car wreck; I'm at a hospital right now."

"Oh no, are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine"

"What about Artemis? Is he okay?"

"That's actually why I'm calling. They didn't find Artemis in the car. He wasn't there when they found me. Artemis is missing. Again."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I still don't own Artemis Fowl, but I do own ten extremely annoying pet voices…**_

…

Juliet told Artemis` parents what Butler had told her after he had hung up. They were calling the police right now; well Artemis Sr. was, while Mrs. Fowl was on the couch crying. Juliet was trying to get a hold of Holly.

"Mud-Girl? Why in Frond's name are you calling me at a time like this?" Holly finally answered.

"Hello to you too, Holly. I`m sorry I`m calling you so early but I thought you might want to know that Artemis is missing. Butler and Artemis got into a car wreck when they were coming home from Haven last night. Butler was taken to a hospital, but they didn't find Artemis in the car."

"What do you mean they didn`t find him? Where was he?"

"We don't know. He's missing. We've been calling the police and everyone who could help for almost an hour."

"Okay Juliet, start explaining. What exactly happened?"

Juliet told her everything that she knew.

"Okay, thanks for calling, I'm worried about him, but I don't see how I could help unless it has something to do with the People."

"You can't do anything? What about Foaly? Ask him if he can help at all." Juliet asked desperately.

"Juliet, I'll ask but don't get your hopes up. It's unlikely we'll be able to do anything."

"I know, I just don't want anything to happen to him."

"I don't either Juliet. Good luck, I'll ask Foaly if he can do anything when I get in to work." Holly hung up and sighed. _Artemis, wherever you are, I hope you`re alright,_ she thought.

…

Artemis woke up chained to a wall. He remembered that he and Butler had gotten into a car wreck, and that someone had forcibly removed him from the car. He remembered trying to get away before they shot him; with a neutrino it seems, as he found no bullet wounds. His left leg hurt really badly, it was definitely broken, and his head was pounding. It was bleeding; he could feel hot blood running down his face. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a big, dark, dirty room. The walls and the floor were made of concrete and were wet and slick with little puddles of water everywhere. He saw a door across from him on the other side of the room.

He tried to get his hands free from the chains. They were suspended above him and were losing blood and getting very uncomfortable as they fell asleep.

He heard the door open "Don't even try it Mud-Boy. You'll never get out of those" said a voice from across the room. He knew that voice. He squinted into the dark.

"Opal Koboi, we meet again" he said in a cold voice.

"Oh how cliché. That big brain couldn't come up with something better?" she said, walking towards him.

"Opal, get to the point. Why am I here?"

"Stupid Mud-Boy, I won't reveal my ingenious plan to you quite yet. I will say that you're here to help with it though. Did you like my plan to capture you? I modified a stolen fairy shuttle to be virtually indestructible. I then sent my little road-block out with my helpers and they collected you from your pitiful car. It was almost perfectly executed, but I was not there so it was not perfect."

"So you caused that wreck, and brought me here, for what? To use my genius? Or revenge?"

"Oh no, I don't need your brain, mine is much more advanced, but you could call it revenge. I picked you because, besides captain Short, I hate you the most and you were very easy to kidnap. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to go work on my project. I only came in here so you`d know who you`re dealing with, not to chat." and with that, she walked out of the room.

Artemis was left to his own thoughts, though it was hard to think with his head pounding like it was. He leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes. He felt like a giant bruise. _The accident must have been bad_ he thought. _I do hope Butler is okay._

…

Holly walked in to Foaly`s tech booth the minute she arrived at police plaza.

"Foaly, I need your help. Juliet called me this morning and told me that… hey, what's wrong?"

Foaly was banging his head on his desk. He stopped and looked at Holly with a horrified and worried expression.

"She's done it again. I can't believe we have do deal with her again!" he said, a little hysterically

"Foaly, what's the problem? Who do we have to deal with?" she was a little worried, Foaly looked like he was crazy. _Oh please not _another _crazy friend_! She thought desperately.

"Opal Koboi got out of her cell last night! No one noticed until this morning."

"Oh not _again_! I thought we were done with that maniac!"

"I know, I hope we find her before she tries to take over the world. Did you need my help with something?"

"Yeah, Juliet called me_ really_ early this morning and told me that Artemis and Butler got into a car wreck on their way home and when the paramedics arrived they apparently didn't find Artemis in the car. He's missing. Hey," she said, getting an idea. "Do you think Opal has something to do with that?"

"That is very possible, but we have no evidence of that. He has a lot of enemies, it could have been anyone."

"Okay, well do you think you could track him or see if Opal did kidnap him?"

"I could try, but I might not come up with anything. If there were some security cameras watching the road I could hack into them, but I`m not guaranteeing I`ll find anything Holly, and if Opal didn`t do it, I don`t think we can help."

"That's what I told Juliet, but I wanted to ask."

"Don't worry Holly; I'm sure we'll see him again." Foaly said trying to encourage his friend. _I really do hope we'll see him again,_ he thought as Holly left. _Saving the world just wouldn't be the same without him._

…

Artemis found himself in a bad situation. He was strapped tightly to a table in a small room that had the typical laboratory setup. Tables that had vials and beakers full of strange, different colored substances that were cold, boiling, and some had mist spilling out of their containers. Opal, who was wearing a lab coat and a pair of goggles, mixed different beakers and chemicals together, and sometimes she just poured it out into a sink and started over again, always ending up with something different. Finally, she looked like she was done playing with her chemicals and added a small, purplish rock to the end product. The rock almost immediately dissolved and when she was satisfied with her substance, which was now clear, she put it into a hypodermic needle.

Artemis watched, dread boiling in the pit of his stomach, as she flicked the needle a few times and walked towards him.

"Now Mud-Boy, hold still and you'll only feel a little pinch" she said, using her thumb to make a vein in the crook of his elbow bulge, she stuck the needle into it, and injected the clear liquid into his arm. He wated to jerk away, but that would not help matters.

He felt a slight burning sensation travel up his arm and through his body. _This cannot be good_ he thought. Opal walked back to her table, and grabbed the knife that she had used to get him into the room to begin with, and came back. "You might feel this though," she said with a murderous smile and stabbed him in the stomach. He let out a cry and she pulled it back out. Blood flowed from the wound onto the clean table and he closed his eyes, trying to block out the pain and find a way out of this without dying, as he had been doing since he had woken up here. He opened them again when the pain started to diminish, and he was surprised to see Opal healing him. She stopped when he wasn't bleeding anymore. She didn't look happy.

"Well that's not good, it didn`t work, but luckily I have some other ones. One is bound to work." She said, walking back to the table and putting the needle away but keeping the knife.

"Opal, what are you doing? What is that stuff? Why did you heal me?" asked Artemis, confused. His stomach still hurt, obviously she didn`t fully heal him. He hoped he wasn`t hurt too bad, and die from internal bleeding.

"I've heard of a saying you Mud-Men have, curiosity killed the cat I believe. I suggest you stop asking so many questions before I kill you."

"I thought you needed me."

"No, I don't need you specifically. I just picked you because you were so easy," she stared at him. She seemed to be considering something. "Hmm… seeing as how I'm going to kill you when I'm done with you, I'll tell you what I'm doing, only so that you won`t need to ask such annoying questions. I'm developing a liquid that would weaken the human body, it will weaken your immune system, your organs will deteriorate at a faster pace than normal, and bones will become brittle. Basically, your insides will age quicker than normal and you will ultimately not be able to survive in the world you have destroyed because your bodies will not be able to take the pollution, and all of you will die. Oh and the best part, if any of the fairies try to heal the pitiful humans, it won't work because that little rock that I put in will solidify somewhere-and I won`t tell you where in case you try to remove it yourself-and it will suck up the magic before it can heal anything. The human race will be destroyed and I barely have to lift a finger."

"Do you plan on taking over the world with that? How would you inject five billion people with that without someone noticing?" he asked skeptically.

"Oh that's just a little part of the plan Fowl," she said, glaring at him. "I still have a long ways to go, and I'm not going to be injecting anything into anybody besides you, I`m going to infect a species of fly with my special mixture and then release them into the world and they will spread it everywhere. This particular breed of fly is immune to the chemicals in it so they will not be harmed and the breed at an alarmingly fast rate. The ones I have will have a kill switch, so when I`m done with them, I can kill them and they will vaporize. I must say, as much work as this phase of my plan is, I`m quite enjoying myself. I can take my revenge, and take over the world at the same time," she smiled evilly and grabbed the knife again and sliced it across the thigh if his broken leg. Artemis clenched his teeth to hold in the moan that threatened to escape. He didn`t want to give Opal that satisfaction.

"There's more where that came from Mud-boy, and you can't do anything about it. This is going to be fun," she laughed insanely, and with that, the Brill brothers released him and practically dragged him back to the wet dirty room and chained him up to the wall again. They slackened the chains a little so he could lie down on the floor which he immediately complied to.

He closed his eyes after hearing the door slam and lock, and assessed his many injuries. His leg was bleeding badly and it would be a miracle if he didn`t die from blood loss. There was possible internal bleeding or maybe just a cut on one of his organs that Opal had not healed. There was still his broken leg, which was in dire need of attending to, as it was a sickly purple color now. He didn`t think he could do anything about it right now. There were so many ways to die at the hands of Opal Koboi_. I really hope Butler finds me_ he thought. _Soon_.

**...**

**There we go, got some torture action in it, always a good time. I must admit that I was a little shocked and slightly disturbed when I saw some of the reviews. Most were saying they read this for the torture, and asking me to make it very painful... then I remembered I like it painful too. I`m pretty sure I got this from AC- people like to see their hero as far down as possible without being out, makes things interesting. Anyhoo, I want to thank all my reviewers, y`all are awsome! and I wanna thank my mom and my friend miss Mandy May for proofreading everything before I post it. Don`t forget to be awsome and review!**

**~the Authoress **


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: If I owned him, I wouldn't need a disclaimer now would I?**_

…

When Holly was getting ready to leave Police Plaza that evening, she stopped by Foaly`s tech booth to see if he had gotten any information about what had happened to Artemis.

"Well did you find anything?" she said when she walked in.

"You`re just in time for the show, I was just running a search to see if I could track his communicator," he typed on his Gnomish keyboard and watched as the computer ran its search. About a minute later, the results were shown on the screen.

"Negative on the communicator, something might be blocking it or whoever's got him destroyed it. I`ll see if I can get some security footage of the road they were on," he typed some more and looked closely at the results.

"Aha!" he said after a while. "Here we go! I've got a few cameras that were watching the road when they got into the accident. Let's see, we just need them to drive by," he said as he sped up the clip. "Okay, there they are. Alright, let's see what happened to you Arty," and he played the clip.

Holly and Foaly watched as the Bentley flew down a slick, wet road. An extremely bright light came out of nowhere. The unfortunate car slammed head on into the lights and the force of the impact bounced it backwards. It rolled over a few times and came to a stop upside-down.

Foaly sucked in a breath through his teeth "That didn`t look good."

On the screen, nothing happened for a second, then suddenly the lights went out and they saw a fairy shuttle pop into existence where the lights had been. The door opened and two figures emerged from it and walked over to the side of the car visible to the camera. One opened the door and the other climbed inside. He came back out, trying to drag someone bigger than himself out of the car and having trouble, so the other person helped him. They eventually got whoever it was out of the car. They could both see who it was now, though they had already known it would be Artemis. The two kidnappers seemed to be having a bit of trouble with him, because apparently he was conscious and fighting back. Both Foaly and Holly watched as their friend hit his attackers and squirm out of their arms. He fell to the ground on his back and started to crawl away, but his left leg was hurt and he didn`t get far before one of the kidnappers took out a neutrino and shot Artemis with it. He collapsed and lay still on the ground. The figures picked up Artemis and dragged him back into the shuttle.

Foaly stopped the clip and rewound it to where they were picking up Artemis and paused it. He zoomed in on their faces and saw Opal's henchmen, the Brill brothers.

"Well, now we know what happened and who did it," Foaly said. He clip-clopped over to a speaker and pushed a button. "Trouble, we have a problem."

"Foaly, this had better be good! I've got enough on my plate with this Opal situation!"

"Oh I think it's pretty important. Artemis Fowl has been kidnapped and we caught both of the Brill brothers red handed."

Trouble sighed, "Alright, I`ll be over there in a minute."

When he arrived, Foaly showed him the clip of the wreck and what happened afterwards. He showed him the close up of the pixies.

"Trouble, it's best to assume Opal is behind this," he said.

"Okay, assume all you want, but I don`t see how it will help. We have no idea where they took the mud boy."

"Foaly, do everything you can to find him. We are officially involved and I want to find Artemis as fast as possible. Remember what happened last time she got a hold of one of us?" said Holly.

"Yeah I certainly do remember. Okay Holly, I promise it'll be on the top of my to-do list" he said.

…

Artemis had definitely had better days. He didn`t sleep much last night, and this morning Opal had tested a new form of her killer substance on him and it had hurt even more than the other one. Not only had she stabbed him again, but the mysterious chemicals in his body were obviously not reacting well. He was now lying on the ground moaning and shivering. He wished he could free his hands from the chains and curl up in a ball. But he needed to find a way out of this place before Opal killed him. He dreaded his next visit to her laboratory; she had said that she had a surprise for him. He shuddered. He could only imagine what that might be.

He eventually fell asleep but he didn`t sleep for long because Mervall came and woke him up.

"The mistress is ready for you mud boy," he said as he let Artemis` hands free. He pulled him to his feet and dragged him out of the room, down a dark hallway, and into Opal's laboratory. _Now is your chance_ he thought._ I could very well die in there._ So he kicked Mervall with his good leg, which caused Artemis to cry out in pain because he had to stand on his broken leg. Mervall fell down on his face, and Artemis grabbed his chance and made a run for it, or rather a limp for it. Unfortunately, he didn`t get far before he heard a sharp crack and felt a sting on his back. He yelled as he fell to the floor.

"Oooh, I do have good aim don`t I?" he heard someone say from behind him. Artemis lifted his head up a little and looked behind him. Opal stood there, looking menacing with a black whip in her hand.

"You thought you could get away that easily huh? Stupid Mud boy, you have just made your surprise ten times worse for that little stunt. Mervall, take him to his room and tighten the chains. I want him standing for this." Mervall grabbed him roughly and dragged him to the room he had just left. He was again chained up with his arms above him, but this time he was facing the wall and standing.

"Now, how many should I do? Should I leave any skin at all?"

"Mistress, you know the answer," replied Mervall.

Opal smiled, "I do indeed." And with that she began whipping him on the back.

Over and over again, he felt the cord bite his back, shredding his skin and his shirt. Over and over again, he bit his tongue and ground his teeth, trying to hold back every scream that tried to escape. He stopped caring around thirty and moaned and occasionally let out short screams when particularly strong ones hit.

Eventually, Opals arms got tired and she stopped and walked out of the room. Mervall loosened the chains so Artemis could sit down. He let out a shaky breath and slumped in his chains. He shuddered, feeling blood running down his burning, stinging back.

The door opened and Artemis looked up to see Opal holding a needle, this time full of crème colored liquid. She went through the same routine, injecting it in a vein in his elbow. She watched him and he waited for the burning feeling but his time he didn`t feel much except a slight throbbing in the base of his skull. Opal set down the needle and yanked him around where he was starring at the wall and she was looking at his back. She called up a few healing sparks and they leaped from her fingers to him. Nothing happened.

"Finally," she whispered. She jumped up and left the room in a rush.

Artemis turned around slowly. If that stuff Opal made was actually working now, he was sure to die. His time was up and he had no idea what to do now.

…

It had been a week already and no one knew anything about the whereabouts of Artemis Fowl II. Foaly hadn't found anything but the security footage of the accident and initial kidnapping. Butler had been sent home from the hospital a few days earlier and was at Fowl Manor doing some investigating of his own. But nothing was working. They couldn't track Artemis, or the shuttle they had seen. They were at a dead end as to his location.

No one was giving up though. They all searched and worked and thought about anything that could possibly help. All of Artemis` friends were determined to find him before it was too late. Holly felt like they were past that point after more and more days passed and Artemis continued to remain hidden.

**...**

**coolio, another chapter for ya, and up sooner than I thought. Maybe I was seep typing again... I could also blame this on what a good mood I was in after eating a nice mexican dinner :) Yummers! I really do feel sorry for those that have never enjoyed real mexican food (my aunt from Conneticut hadn't before she came down here). I wanna thank all my reviewers for, well, reviewing! and Chelsy, if you happen to be reading this, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! That's like two days late, I know. Happy B-day sis and I hope the rest of your life is absolutely wonderful! love you!**

**Don't forget to review! I wanna know what you think!**

**~the Authoress**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer: (sigh) I will never own Artemis Fowl... Not until cupcakes take over the world and I am made their queen... ;)_**

It had been a month since Artemis had been kidnapped by Opal and used as her personal lab rat. She had finally found a toxin that had worked and she kept him chained up in the room he was always in to observe how the killer substance would do on its first test run. Artemis was supposed to be dying at a faster pace than normal every day. His organs should be failing, muscles wasting away, cells dying, and bones becoming brittle. He should look like a walking skeleton, but he didn't.

"Why isn't it working? I can't heal you, the stone must be doing its job, but you don't look like you're dying," Opal smirked, "except for all the gashes on your back, arms, and well, everywhere else." She waved a knife around his face, her eyes glinting with insanity. She put the knife against his right cheek and made a long slice across it. She tried to heal it and nothing happened. She had been making small cuts all over him for a while now. When Opal first noticed that he obviously wasn't dying, she did tests everyday to see whether the peculiar stone was doing its job.

She left the room as she had done everyday after cutting him and locked the door behind her. Artemis leaned his head against the wall. He was tired and hungry. Opal fed him only once a day and it was never good food. He was getting weaker everyday. He glanced down at his broken leg. It was looking worse. He had determined he had a small fracture, and it was healing improperly, thus it was mangled looking and constantly swollen. It would be incredibly painful to walk on. He wondered briefly why it was taking so long for Holly or Foaly or Butler or _anybody _to find him. If they didn't rescue him soon, or if he didn't escape, it would be too late.

He sighed, closed his eyes and leaned back on the wall. If he wanted out of here, he would have to do it himself apparently. He looked around the room trying to find any way out. The door was usually locked, but he knew he could pick it in no time. He would need to get out of the chains too. The only thing that he saw that would be complicated would be the security cameras in all four corners of the room, and his crippled leg would slow him down. Opal would see him and come to stop him before he could even get out of this room.

He stretched a little and winced when he felt one of the scabs on his back crack and it started bleeding. He sighed again. When would he be saved?

_Come on Holly, Butler. I haven't given up yet and I need some help._ He thought of his friends sadly. They were the only friends he had ever had and he didn't want to say goodbye just yet, but, did he really want them to come here to his aid? What if something happens and they suffer the same fate as him? If he didn't get away, no one would be able to warn the human population and they would die. He pondered these thoughts for a while, then came to a conclusion. He would try his best to keep his friends safe.

_I guess it's up to me then, _he thought, and fell into a restless sleep.

…

"Wakey wakey mud boy. I think I've finally found the right formula for this!" Artemis woke up to see Opal standing in front of him.

_She's said that so many times and it never does work, _he thought to himself. Then he thought of something odd.

"Opal," his voice was strained and hoarse from disuse. "How is it that a great scientist like you can't figure out a simple murder weapon?"

Opal's eyes narrowed at him, her joy vanishing into thin air. She ground her teeth.

"Mock me all you want mud boy, but I'll have the last laugh. Do you understand how rare these stones are? I make them myself, and they have to be paired up with the perfect solution to get them working properly. I doubt even you could get it right the first few times." She said sneering at him. She stepped closer to him, hatred burning in her eyes, with a needle full this time with lime green.

"I doubt it. I am smarter than you after all," he knew he was pushing it.

"I'm going to hurt you so bad for that," she said almost casually as she prodded his elbow yet again. "What do you think it should be this time, hmm? I did enjoy the whip, but maybe you prefer something else?" She injected the thick liquid slowly into his vein.

"I don't know. I'm rather picky when it comes to my torture," his reply dripping with sarcasm.

That seemed to set her off. "You stupid, stupid mud brat!" she screamed, and slapped him. She growled and stormed out of the room.

Artemis observed that there was a slightly tingly feeling coursing through his veins to accompany his red cheek. _I wonder what it will do this time_. He felt a bit uneasy, as he should. It could actually work this time. He suddenly heard the sound of glass shattering.

Opal came back into the room with the black whip in one hand and a sharp piece of glass in the other. Mervall followed her in and undid Artemis' chains to where he was once again facing the wall and standing. He looked behind him, watching Opal tie the glass to the end of the whip. He swallowed hard and turned around. He didn't want to see this.

"I'll only do it a few times; I don't want to kill you just yet. I need to know how this new formula turns out," and brought the whip back and then forward.

Artemis let out a violent scream, not being able to hold it back. The glass dug into his flesh and ripped back out when the chord slackened. His screams got louder with every strike. She stopped at ten and started to roll up the whip and untie the bloody piece of glass from the end. She was laughing the whole time, a mad, highly disturbing cackle that would send shivers down the spine of even the toughest person alive.

Artemis was definitely shivering, but not because of Opal, because of his shredded back. He gritted his teeth and stopped putting his weight on his good leg and just let the chains hold him up. It hurt his wrists, but he didn't notice, or care. He was exhausted and in a lot of pain. He was very glad when Mervall undid the chains, freeing him. Then the action caught up with his brain. He sat down, barely able to stay upright, and looked at Mervall confused.

Opal decided to answer his silent question. "I decided that you would not be able to get out of this room without me noticing. My security features will send me an alert if you get within a certain range of the door. I suggest staying away from it unless you want to be locked up again." She said, narrowing her eyes.

She walked out of the room and Mervall followed, locking the door behind him. Artemis hadn't been let out of the chains in weeks and now there were ugly bruises on his thin wrists. He rubbed them gently and curled up into a ball on the floor and fell asleep, more comfortable than he had been since arriving here, but he still wished he was in his own bed in his own room.

…

"Holly, how much sleep did you get last night?" Foaly asked, looking carefully at the bags under Holly's eyes.

"Foaly, stay out of my business," she replied coldly.

"Holly, I know you're worried about him, but you need sleep. You look horrible"

"How can I sleep? Artemis has been missing for a month! We have absolutely nothing to show for all the hard work; nothing to track, no suspects in custody, only a _hunch_ on who did it!" she said exasperated.

"Calm down Holly. We will find him and Opal too"

"How? How Foaly? We can't track him! He wasn't wearing his fancy shoes with the tracking spray on them! We can't track Opal, the shuttle she used, or the Brill brothers!"

She was cut off in the middle of her rant by a loud beeping. Both heads turned to the screen where the beeping was emanating from. Foaly rushed over to it, typed on his keyboard and watched as several things popped up. Holly saw him smile widely.

"What is it Foaly?" she asked, standing next to him and looking at the screen.

"We just got a hit on him. He's in an abandoned building a few miles away from Fowl Manor. It's an old concrete block in the middle of the woods that the humans used for bomb making."

"Well what are we waiting for? Come on let's go get our mud boy!"

…

_Thirty minutes earlier_

Artemis had woken up with a stiff and burning back and a headache. He considered stretching, but didn't think it would be good for his back which had dried blood crusted over it. It was sure to start bleeding when he moved.

_At least it is not as bad as yesterday_ he thought with a grimace.

His stomach twisted and growled loudly. He hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. He hoped he would get more than just a few slices of bread and a cup of water today.

Just then the door burst open and in came Opal with his usual breakfast, but this time with an apple.

"Today's a big day mud boy! We are relocating to a different spot. If we stay here any longer, the L.E.P. has a chance to find us and that just wouldn't do now would it?" she sat the food down on the floor and watched Artemis pick up the apple and bite into it hungrily. She obviously didn't find it interesting and left.

He seemed calm but on the inside he was close to panicking. He had no way of knowing where he was now, so he didn't know what the chances of his friends finding him were or if he could make it home himself. He could be miles away from civilization, or he could be one town over from his own house. The latter didn't sound likely, but who knew with Opal Koboi?

_Okay, calm down. Think. Try to determine where we are._ He thought for a second and got an idea. He put his ear to the wall and listened. Nothing. His room was probably in the middle of this building. He thought some more. There were no windows, no sounds, sights, or smells he could relate to a certain part of the world. He was in the dark with no way to turn on the light.

The door opened and again it was his nemeses. "Okay, I have everything packed, and most of the evidence is gone. All that's left is you. If captain Short happens to find out we were here, I've set up a little decoy. Mervall, Descant" she called. The Brill brothers walked in with a cot covered by a sheet. Opal strutted over and dramatically flung the sheet away. Artemis' eyes widened at the sight of…himself.

"You like it? It's a special one I made myself. It only takes a few weeks to grow." She took out a knife and stabbed the clone straight through the heart. Artemis winced. "Now, when your friends find this place, we will be long gone, and you will appear dead. Your friends won't be looking for you anymore." She smiled a crazed, evil smile and looked at Merv and Scant. "You two, get the clone in place and tie him up," she said pointing at Artemis. They proceeded to do just that.

When Artemis' hands were tied up, he was yanked to his good foot and held up by his elbows. He could feel blood dripping down his burning back.

"Scant, you go load the shuttle. Merv, go strap the mud boy in, and make sure he doesn't get away. I'll go turn off the tracking shield. That's what has been keeping us out of reach of the L.E.P. this whole time," she said to Artemis and walked out of the room again and Scant followed her.

Mervall dragged Artemis through the building; not an easy task as the building was rather large and Artemis was bigger than him. Artemis followed quietly and after several turns they reached the door that lead outside, but before Artemis could determine exactly where he was, he was blindfolded. He would have to act on his plan quickly before he was locked in the shuttle.

He flung his head backwards and forwards, loosening the poorly tied blindfold. When Artemis was able to see a little, he kicked Merv as hard as he could in the back, gritting his teeth as he put his weight briefly on his bad leg. Mervall fell down on the ground and Artemis made a run for it-or at least a hobble for it- into the woods. He limped as fast as his horribly swollen leg could take him, dodging trees and bushes, grunting at the pain in his back. He hadn't gotten very far when he heard a scream behind him.

_She's going to come after me and no doubt I'll have an even worse chance of escape than before. _He kept going, waiting for someone to tackle him and drag him back to the shuttle, but the tackle never came. Instead he felt a sharp pain in his side, making him gasp and stumble. He tried to dodge behind some trees as he looked down briefly enough to see a knife sticking out of his side. He grunted as he reached his tied hands to his side and pulled the knife out and threw it to the ground. He kept limping as fast as he could in the opposite direction of the concrete building he had been imprisoned in.

"You'll never make it back mud boy! I hope your death is painful!" he heard Opal scream behind him. He sincerely hoped she was wrong.

…

Authoress' note! (cause _everybody_ reads these)

Well _that_ took forever and a day! Sorry about that, I don't even have an excuse. Oh! and look at that! Unintentional cliffie! YAY! ^v^ I didn't mean for that to end up there...

I promise to have the next chappy up soon!

PS: did you know that if you lined up every elephant in the world end to end out in space, they would die? *o*

Review to achieve awsomness...


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I wish... and so do you! don't try to hide it, I know you do! ;D _

**...**

Holly was flying at high speed over the tree tops. She was ecstatic about finding her friend but she couldn't help but be a little worried about what state Artemis would be in when she got there. She glanced at the coordinates Foaly had sent her. She was almost there, just a minute away. She sped up a little.

She was the first one to arrive at the old concrete building. She got out her gun and started walking towards it. She stopped, realizing something.

"Foaly, how am I supposed to get permission to enter an abandoned human dwelling? How did Opal get permission?"

"Umm, I think those carvings around the door count," came the reply.

She walked closer and looked carefully at the door. There were words scrawled into the concrete around the door. They were not very welcoming, edging more into disturbing and insane. Most were talking about seeing dead people, or seeing things that weren't there and hearing voices. She skimmed over them and came to a suicide note that had the words _all are welcome inside, but beware what you seek_ in it.

"I think someone here went coo-coo."

"Wow, that's weird, but I guess it counts. Okay, I'm going in." she pushed the steel door open and walked in. It was quiet and dark. She activated the lights on her helmet and looked around the room. It was dirty and slightly wet looking. There was mold on the floor and walls and several cobwebs in the corners. She looked down at the mold she was currently standing on and stepped to the side making sure she wasn't standing on another patch. She wasn't. She was standing on blood. It wasn't a lot of blood, but she could tell someone came through here injured.

"Those look like human footprints," said Foaly. She followed the trail of bloody footprints through another door and through several hallways.

"Holly, the rest of your party just arrived. Wait for them," came her commander's voice.

"Trouble, I can handle Opal. I'm going to find Artemis whether they're here or not. It looks like he's injured and I'm not waiting around for it to be too late." She blocked out Troubles voice yelling at her to wait.

She wandered through hall after hall before she finally came to another door. She pushed it open, not sure what to expect. She didn't see anything at first, so she walked into the room to have a look around. There was blood on the floor, but not much, just splatter it looked like. She saw that there was more blood in the back next to the wall, a lot of blood. She looked around the room a little more, and shrieked. She ran over to the figure lying on the ground, knowing it was Artemis. She dropped down to him and saw the knife sticking out of his chest. He wasn't breathing. Tears ran down her face as she looked at him. She knew she was too late, but she still sent off some sparks to his body. His cuts on his face healed, but he did not wake. She was crying now, fat tears landing on her friends face.

"Holly, c'mon let's go. Opal's not here. We'll bring Fowl back to his family," said one of the recon fairies. The room had gone solemn as everyone found out what had happened. She got up, tears streaming down her face, and left the room.

"I'm sorry Holly. We'll find Opal and bring her in. She won't get out of jail in her lifetime." Foaly said sadly, trying to comfort his friend a little.

"What does it matter?" Holly sniffed. "He's gone and he's not coming back, no matter how many centuries Opal is in for." She was shaking with rage now. Opal had finally killed Artemis. She had been too late to save him. She ran out of the building, cutting off all communication, and flew away.

Back underground, Foaly sighed. "She just needs to be alone for a while." He sighed again, "I'm going to have to tell Butler about this." So he called the bodyguard, relating how they had found Artemis, and told him in a quiet voice what they had found. There was silence on Butler's side for a long time, and he finally let out a breath and thanked Foaly for telling him and hung up.

Foaly put his long face in his hands and thousands of miles above him, a certain giant bodyguard did the same.

…

Artemis sat panting at the base of a tree clutching his side. He had been sitting here for a while now, trying to muster some strength to continue on. His side burst with sudden pain and he screwed up his face and gritted his teeth until it had passed. That had been happening off and on the entire time.

His back was bleeding very badly now and so was his side. The knife hadn't stabbed anything important apparently, or he would be on the ground dying. He ripped a strip of his shirt off and tied it around his abdomen, making sure to cover the wound to stop the bleeding. This just made it slightly harder to breath.

He took a deep breath and stood up using the tree to lean on. His leg hurt too badly to walk on anymore. He looked around and saw a thick branch. He limped over to it, wincing, and picked up the branch and used it as a walking stick. It helped immensely.

Artemis slowly trudged through the thick forest, worrying about what Opal had said. The odds of him making it back to Fowl Manor were against him. He was already panting and gasping like a fish out of water and he had only been walking for about five minutes. Another bought of pain exploded in his side and he leaned over, digging his fingernails into the walking stick. He breathed heavily when he could stand a little straighter.

He looked over his shoulder. He had gotten pretty far from the building._ I wonder why she let me go,_ he wondered. She had said she didn't need him necessarily for a test subject, maybe she would just find somebody else to fill his spot. He thought about the decoy clone she had killed and left behind. _Holly thinks I'm dead, _he thought sadly. He shook his head and walked on again. He grunted as his back started bleeding even more. Every move he made would make it worse. But he couldn't just sit around waiting for someone to find him since everyone thought he was dead.

"Aagh!" A particularly strong wave of agony stabbed into his abdomen, making him fall to the ground in a shaking ball. He moaned and laid there breathing heavily when it had stopped. He stood up shakily.

He continued to limp around on his stick, trying to find a trail, or something that would signal civilization nearby. He finally stumbled upon a small path that looked man-made and followed it. It could be one of the hiking trails that lead through these woods. If it was, it would bring him to civilization, and he could get some help.

He followed the trail for at least an hour before it started to get dark. The trail had branched off a lot, and now he felt terribly lost. He sat down under a tree again. He was tired, hungry, and dirty. His back had been bleeding slowly the entire time, so his legs and what was left of his shirt were now covered in blood. He was also covered in sweat, even though he wasn't hot.

He looked down at the outfit he was wearing. His mother had given it to him. Just a plain gray t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and some tennis shoes. He had removed the shoe on his broken foot long ago so he only had one. He had to admit, he had never looked worse in his life, but the shirt was substantially more comfortable than his regular suit.

…

Butler was taking the death of his charge rather well. Of course, he had been trained not to show emotion, but he had always thought of Artemis as more than just his charge. A very good friend or even a son would be more accurate.

Of course, it was obvious he was depressed, but less so than the rest of the manor's occupants. Juliet was crying, though not a lot. Mrs. Fowl was absolutely bawling, and even Mr. Fowl was shedding a few tears. They had both decided to leave the house for a while and had gone to a hotel for the night. Beckett and Myles had not yet found out about their brother's death, and were now asleep.

Butler continued doing what he had always done, except protect Artemis. He cooked, though no one was in any mood to actually eat, he cleaned, and protected the house and the rest of the occupants. It was late and dark outside when he went out to do his rounds.

…

Artemis was almost out of energy. He felt sick, he probably had a fever. He was finding it increasingly hard to breathe and his limping was slowing down. He was struggling to remain conscious, and he was only fighting it now because he had reached a familiar path.

When Artemis was younger, his parents had taken him out hiking once and only once because they had found that it wasn't enjoyable for them. Of course, he remembered almost everything from that one hike. The trail he was on now was the same trail he had been on then. It would eventually cross a road that leads up to Fowl Manor.

He almost fell over when his branch caught on the edge of the road. He smiled dazedly. Everything was spinning now; he wouldn't be able to make it far. So he began the journey up the road. He limped as carefully as he could, watching his feet.

His vision started to go black around the edges when he was almost to the big gates that surrounded his home. He collapsed on the ground, not able to move his foot any farther. He fell flat on his face in the middle of the road, panting, as his vision faded. He looked up at the quiet grounds beyond the fence, knowing the people inside the huge manor were oblivious to what was going on at the moment. They thought he was dead, and now he really would be.

Something just managed to catch his eye, a giant mass of black moving behind the gates._ Butler_! He thought. He wouldn't be able to get his attention by just laying there, so he tried making noise, but not much came out. Not enough to reach Butler's well trained ears. Using the very last ounce of energy he had, he picked up a small rock next to him and threw it at the gates. He had terrible aim, and the throw was extremely weak, but just before he passed out, he heard a faint clanking and ringing noise.

…

Butler's head snapped to the gates and he aimed his gun at the noise, but found no one standing there. He frowned and walked to them, taking a closer look. No, no one was there. It was just the black, reinforced gates and the dark landscape beyond them. He looked through the bars, still aiming his gun at an unknown enemy.

Something had to have made that noise, so he decided to take a look outside. He unlocked the gates and opened them slightly, just enough for him to fit his mass through. He had made it one step before he kicked the rock that made the noise. He frowned and looked closely into the black.

There! Just a few yards down there was something in the middle of the road. He trained his gun on it, wary of his surroundings, and walked forward. It was dark and even his well trained eyes were having a tough time making out what exactly the object was.

The object, a person it seemed, wasn't moving. He walked a little faster, finally reaching the person, and gasped, sort of. He noticed who it was and immediately bent down to check his vitals.

Artemis' heartbeat was slow and his breathing was shallow. He was unconscious, covered in blood and burning up. Butler didn't know what was happening or how this was possible, but his training sunk in and he gently turned Artemis over and picked him up. He walked quickly up the long driveway and up to the door. He kicked it a few times and waited for Juliet to answer the door. She opened it with a gun pointed at him.

"Dom! What-"she started to ask, but saw what was in Butler's enormous arms. She followed him into the living room.

"Is that…" she trailed off, discovering the answer when Butler laid the boy on the couch.

"I'll go get the first-aid kit," and she ran into the kitchen and returned with a large metal case and set it next to her brother. Butler took off Artemis' ruined shirt and tossed it to the side.

"Juliet, go get a towel" he said as he untied the make-shift bandage Artemis had made for himself. She came back and gave the clean towel to him and he put it to Artemis' bloody wound and held it there.

"Call Holly," he said to Juliet. She ran up to Artemis' room and grabbed his communicator, dialing Holly.

"Juliet?" She heard a croaky voice answer her.

"Holly, I don't really know what is going on right now, but Butler just walked into the manor holding Artemis. He's apparently alive and not in the best shape. He looks like a hunk of meat. You have to get over here, he's injured really bad."

Holly was in shock. Artemis, the recently deceased mastermind, found alive? When they have his body in the lab in Haven? She shook her head. She should check it out.

"Okay Juliet, I'll take your word for it. I'll be there soon. You had better not be toying with me mud girl." She added with a growl.

"No Holly, I promise. I wouldn't joke about that."

Holly hung up. She had flown to the place she had first met Artemis and had been here since she had flown away from that building. She activated her wings and flew away.

_Arty is alive. Juliet had said Butler found him alive. How is that possible? _She flew as fast as she could towards the manor that she had come to know so well. She would not be too late this time. She was bound and determined to bring her friend back from the dead.

**...**

**Thanks to everyone who favorited me or my story, and all of you who put me on alert! **

**Review if you like it, review if you don't but please no flames, they are not helpful at all. If you found a mistake, tell me! And if I get lots of reviews, I might just update quicker! hint hint ;)**

**Butler's watching you O.O**

**~the Authoress**


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: You know how this works. I don't own these people!_

**...**

Butler studied his young charge as he waited for Holly. Artemis was covered in dirt, sweat and blood. He had cuts and gashes all over him and of course the stab wound in his side and the crippled leg. He looked skinnier than was healthy; his sharp cheekbones looked like they might just poke through the nasty slash on his face.

Butler remembered seeing how badly the shirt was ripped in the back when he found him and gently turned him over a little. The flesh was shredded and raw. There was dried blood crusted over some of the deep gashes and there was an older one up near his neck that was slightly healed and left a red line.

Butler picked up the injured boy slightly so he was lying on his stomach and positioned the wadded up gauze on the stab wound to where Artemis was on top of it and could still add pressure to it. Butler saw him grimace a little when he was completely settled.

Juliet walked in with wet washcloths. She started to clean the grime off Artemis' face.

"He certainly doesn't look good does he?" she asked quietly.

"He looks a lot better than if he were dead," Butler replied.

They both looked up when they heard a knock on the door. Juliet put the soiled cloth on a nearby table and went to answer the door. When she opened it, she didn't see anything until Holly unshielded and fizzled into view.

"Come in, he's in there," she said pointing behind her.

She took off her helmet and walked quickly into the room Juliet had directed her to and when she saw him on the couch, her stomach dropped. She ran over to him and grabbed his arm and called up her magic supply.

"Heal," she whispered under her breath. She watched the blue sparks jump from her hands to Artemis' arm and spread over his body. They sunk into his skin and she felt him jerk unnaturally. She held on tight to his arm and pushed her magic out, making him jerk even more. He moaned loudly.

She looked at his face, smashed against a pillow, and saw his eyes pop open, though they were dazed and unfocused. His mouth was moving, but no words came out. Finally, he blinked and in a hoarse, strangled voice, he said "Stop!" Bewildered, Holly stopped the flow of magic and took her hand away.

"Don't" Artemis coughed and fell unconscious again. Holly looked at his bloody back and her eyes widened and her jaw fell when she saw that nothing had been healed. She got up and looked back at Butler standing behind her. He was just as confused as she was.

"Holly? Are you out of magic?" Juliet asked.

"No, he told me to stop, but the magic I got out before that should have healed him at least a little. But it's just the same as before. Maybe even worse, he's bleeding Butler." She didn't even have to say it; Butler was already holding another towel to his back.

"Why didn't your magic work?" Juliet asked.

"I don't know." She put her helmet back on. She had told her commander what had happened on the flight over there.

"Trouble, we have a problem. I tried to heal Artemis and nothing happened. Get Foaly, I think he could help."

"Okay Holly, I've already called him in, he's on his way," the commander replied.

She took her helmet off again and looked at her friends.

"Trouble's getting Foaly; I think he can help with this. He's already gone home so it might be a while until he gets there. Until then, what exactly happened? The L.E.P. have Artemis' body in the lab, how is he here alive?"

"I found him right outside the gates. He caught my attention by throwing a rock at them, but he was unconscious when I got to him. I think he walked here from where Opal was keeping him." said Butler.

She nodded and looked closer at her human friend, inspecting the injuries.

"Wow Juliet, you weren't kidding. He looks horrible. What's wrong with his leg?"

"I think he broke it in the wreck. It was left untreated, so it healed wrong," said Butler.

"I wonder why he told me to stop," she wondered, mostly to herself.

"It didn't look like he was enjoying it exactly. Maybe it hurt. Do healings usually hurt at all?" asked Juliet.

"Well, major healings can be a little uncomfortable sometimes, but not outright painful," Holly said.

They were interrupted by a low moan. They all looked at Artemis and saw that his mouth was moving and he was making small noises. Holly got closer to him trying to understand what he was saying but she couldn't tell.

"Holly? Foaly's here, I told him what happened," interrupted Trouble's voice from her helmet. She started to put it back on, but stopped when Foaly told her to wait.

After a second, Foaly's face appeared on the flat-screen TV mounted on the wall across from them. He sported a small, smug grin at having been able to hack Artemis yet again, but it quickly disappeared when he saw his friend on the couch.

"Wow, Arty has definitely seen better days. Okay, so you tried to heal him, he told you to stop, and you found out nothing had healed,"

"Correct. He was jerking and thrashing like it hurt. Do you think maybe Opal did something to him?" Holly was worried about this idea.

"Most likely. I'll check it out," he sighed. "Well, since you can't heal him the easy way, you should probably wrap him up big man," he said to Butler. The giant bodyguard nodded and started to attend to his charge, first using the towel to clean off Artemis' back.

"Am I allowed to call the family doctor, Foaly? I could patch him up but not like a doctor could," said Butler.

"I think that would be fine, he doesn't seem to have any magical symptoms that a human doctor would find odd,"

Butler called the doctor, telling him to come over as quickly as possible and that he didn't care what time it was. He hung up when the doctor said he would be right over.

"He doesn't live too far away, so you had better make yourself scarce Foaly," Butler said to the centaur.

"Go find out whose body the L.E.P. found in that building and why he looks like Artemis," said Holly.

"I have a thought about that. Do you remember how Opal broke out of the clinic when she was in that coma?"

"Yeah, she used a…clone. You mean you think that body we found is a clone?" she said.

Foaly nodded, "It is possible, but I don't see how the clone grew so fast, unless she had someone else grow it while she was in jail, or it's some new type of clone that grows extra fast."

"But which Artemis is the clone, and which one is real? You could have the clone, or this is the clone right here," said Juliet.

"I'll go run some tests on the Artemis we have and see if it is the clone while the doctor is here. It's highly unlikely that you guys have the clone seeing as how he can talk to you, and you understood what he said," said Foaly. Holly almost couldn't bare the thought of losing Artemis all over again, and if it turns out that they had the clone, that is exactly what would be happening.

The doorbell rang, and elegant music filled the house and rang in their ears. Butler went to open the door, and Foaly's image winked off the screen. Holly shielded and stood off to the side and Juliet stood near the couch. Holly heard Butler greet the doctor and saw them walk in. The doctor hurried over to Artemis when he saw him and started to look him over.

"He's been stabbed in his side. I covered it with a towel and I don't think it's bleeding as bad as it was earlier," Butler told the doctor.

"His leg looks like it needs surgery to fix. You'll need to admit him to a hospital to be treated," the doctor said.

"We have a medical room with medical tools and other equipment. Do you think you could fix him in there?" Juliet asked.

"I'll have to see it first."

"I'll show you to it," Butler said as he walked away and the doctor followed.

Holly whispered to Juliet who stayed in the room, "You have a medical room?"

"Yes, but I don't remember when it was put in. It's always full of the newest and the best things. It's a doctors dream in there."

She saw Butler walk in and go straight to Artemis.

"The doctor has agreed to treat Artemis in the medical room. You can unshield Holly, He will be in there for a while," he rumbled, gently picking up Artemis and carrying him out of the room.

Holly unshielded and went to sit on the couch, only to find that there was blood on it. She frowned and sat in a chair next to the couch.

"Do you want something to drink Holly?" Juliet asked, walking towards the kitchen.

"No thanks," she wasn't in the mood for eating or drinking. She wasn't even tired, even though she had been awake all day and now almost all night. She wanted to know what was wrong with Artemis. The reaction he had had during the healing was not normal. _What did Opal do to you Arty?_

Juliet walked back into the room carefully holding a cup of something warm, she could see steam curling from the mug. She sat down in a different chair, blowing on her drink to cool it. Butler walked in and looked at the blood stained couch. He sighed.

"It's a good thing I know how to get another with the same design," he said. "Do you think Foaly is done with his tests?"

"I'll check," she said, activating her helmet and flipping the visor out so everyone in the room could see it.

"Foaly? You there?"

"Yes Holly, I know you understand how hard it is to tell a clone from an original unless they start talking. I couldn't take a blood test; the DNA would be almost exactly like the original and I can't make him talk. The Artemis you guys have can talk, but this may be some new form of clone she invented or-"

"Foaly, get to the point," Butler interrupted.

"Right, well, you know how Arty and Holly switched eyes in the time tunnel? Well, your bodies may have accepted the new eyes and their DNA, but that DNA stayed right there in the eyes, not spreading anywhere else. Opal somehow got DNA to copy into a clone, and it was Arty's original gene code, and the extra DNA wasn't included so…" he trailed off, emphasizing that he wanted someone to answer.

"So… both of the clone's eyes should be blue? Not blue and hazel?" Holly finished.

"Exactly! All I had to do was check the eyes, and I am pleased to say…they are both that wonderful blue we all know and love. I really don't see how Opal overlooked that! Such a simple mistake really,"

While Foaly rambled on, complimenting his ego, Holly breathed a sigh of relief. Artemis was alive and officially no longer in Opal's metaphorically dirty hands.

"Thanks Foaly, have you found anything about the healing mishap?" asked Butler.

"There are a few things that can prevent a healing; either make the person immune to healing, or some of them prevent healing for a certain amount of time, but almost all of them would kill a human. There are only three things that a human could take to ward off magic that wouldn't kill them. Two of them don't exist anymore, and the other is an extremely hard to come by liquid that no one knows how to use exactly, so she must be using something else."

Foaly continued to talk to the group for a while, Holly occasionally joining in on the conversation but mostly listening. All of a sudden, she felt the day's emotional turmoil and physical wear come down on her, making her eyelids weigh ten pounds and droop closed.

"Holly? Holly. Hooolly," she heard a gentle voice calling her to consciousness again. She looked up, bleary eyed, at Juliet with her hand on her shoulder and gently shaking her.

"Holly, I think it's time you go to bed. Come on, I'll take you to a guest room," She said.

"No, no I want to see Artemis," Holly said, yawning.

"Holly, you need to sleep. Besides, he'll still be there when you wake up."

Holly sat there for a minute and finally decided to go to sleep. She followed her human friend up the elegant staircase and to a beautiful room with white carpet and light blue walls and a king sized bed with soft looking white sheets and blankets. There was some furniture like a bookcase and a nightstand with some drawers to put clothes in.

"I took the liberty of putting some of my old clothes in the drawers so you wouldn't have to wear your suit the whole time. Goodnight Holly," she said walking out the door and closing it.

Holly mumbled a goodnight and searched through the drawers and changed into a random outfit that fit her rather well. She climbed into the comfortable bed and turned off the lamp, falling asleep almost instantly.

…

Holly yawned and stretched. _Where am I?_ She thought as she felt the unfamiliar, silky sheets she was wrapped in. She cracked open her eyes and remembered where she was when she saw the room she was in. She got up out of the bed and looked for another outfit besides the tank top and shorts she was currently wearing.

She opened the door after changing and saw Butler walking briskly past the door and down the hall to a room two doors away from her own. Curious, she decided to follow him, and walked into the room. The first thing she saw was monitor after beeping monitor, eventually seeing the sleeping teen attached to them on the bed.

"Butler? Is he okay?" Holly asked, walking towards Artemis. He was lying on his left side, and looked as pale and skinny as death.

"Yes, I have a device downstairs that alerts me if he's waking up. It started beeping, so I came up here to check on him," the large man said, looking at his charge.

"So he's waking up?"

"Well, I thought so, but he doesn't look like he's going to. I suppose he's just dreaming."

"Has he woken up at all?"

"No, the doctor gave him some anesthesia, but that was a while ago. He could wake up soon."

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud growl from Holly's stomach.

"Come downstairs, I'll make you something to eat," Butler said.

"Okay, I'll eat, but I want to be here if he starts to wake up," she said. She was reluctant to leave, but she needed to eat

"Good morning Holly! Those clothes look good on you," said Juliet when she entered the kitchen and saw Holly sitting at the table eating a fruit salad.

"Yeah, thanks for lending them to me," Holly replied. She speared another strawberry and popped it in her mouth. She was about to repeat this process with a kiwi when she heard a persistent and rather annoying beeping. Butler was immediately alert. He put down whatever he was holding and walked briskly back up the stairs. Holly looked at Juliet for an explanation.

"It's the thing that tells us Arty's waking up, so come on!" she said following her brother, Holly trailing after her. They hurried into the room, all eyes immediately on Artemis. He did appear to be waking up this time. He groaned and rubbed an eye.

"Artemis?" Butler said.

Artemis peeked out of an eye, looking at his bodyguard with a confused look on his face. He opened both his eyes slowly, eventually looking at each of his visitors. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead let out a weak cough.

"Artemis? Are you okay?" Butler asked, worried.

He nodded and cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm fine."

"How do you feel?"

"Like I was run over by a steam roller. I think I am ill," Artemis groaned.

Butler put a massive hand to the boy's pale forehead. "You're burning up"

"Butler, could you get me something for a headache?" he said, rubbing his temple. Butler left the room and Holly found herself alone with Artemis, as Juliet had left with her brother. She looked over at her friend.

"Hello Holly," he said looking up at her with a tiny smile. She smiled back.

"Hey Arty. Welcome back to the land of the living," she said, reaching out to some light humor to fill the awkward atmosphere of the room.

Artemis became even paler than Holly thought was even humanly possible. "You saw the clone, didn't you?" he whispered sadly.

"Yes, I did, but it doesn't matter. You're alive, and safe."

"Holly, I need to tell you why Opal kidnapped me in the first place. She's-"

"No, we can talk about that when you feel better," Holly chastised him. She wanted desperately to know what was going on, but Butler said that he was sick. He was also healing the old fashioned way, which, if she remembered correctly, required a lot of rest. Artemis sighed and rolled over to where he could lay on his back. He winced and hissed as he settled down.

"Arty? What's wrong?" she walked over and stood next to him.

"My back hurts, and it feels harder to breathe than normal. Is there something wrapped around me?" He rolled to his side again and propped himself up on his elbows. He pulled the blankets back from him and looked down at himself.

He wasn't wearing a shirt, instead clean white gauze was wrapped around his torso, covering his stomach and most of his chest. He frowned and reached a hand back to his neck, feeling the stitches the doctor had used to close the gash on it. He had never looked so confused in his life when he looked at his friend. He pulled the covers over himself again. It was slightly awkward as he was not wearing a shirt and it was also cold.

"Holly, were you not able to heal me?" he asked. He had naturally assumed she would heal him, considering he had been bleeding to death when he had made it to the manor gates.

"No, you started screaming at me to stop. You acted like it hurt, so I stopped and we called a doctor."

Butler finally walked in with some pills and a glass of water. Artemis took a drink and gulped down the pills and winced.

"Ouch, I defiantly have a fever," he croaked.

"Sore throat?" asked Butler.

"Yes," he coughed again, this time harder.

"Ugh, I'm already congested," Artemis said while sniffing.

"Go to sleep Artemis, we can talk later," said Holly.

He shook his head. "No, I need to eat something. Opal was a horrible hostess."

Holly raised her eyebrows at him. "Of all the times to develop a sense of humor," she said giving him a grin.

"What do you want to eat Artemis?" asked Butler.

"Something light, my stomach isn't up for a big meal."

"Okay, I'll be right back," and Butler left the room again.

Holly dragged a chair next to the bed and sat down. Artemis laid there on his shoulder looking at her.

"Are fairies susceptible to human illnesses?" he asked after a minute.

"No, I'll be fine. It does seem kind of weird that you are though."

"I'm not invincible."

"I know, I've just never seen you sick before."

"I'm not sick very often, but I might have picked up something."

Butler walked in, but he didn't have food with him. He looked a little annoyed.

"Foaly wants to speak with you Artemis," he said.

"It's okay old friend, I need to talk with him too," Artemis sat up and leaned against some pillows, facing the television mounted on his wall. Foaly's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey Artemis, feeling okay?" he asked.

"I have been better Foaly, but that is not what you wanted to talk about is it?"

"No, I wanted to ask you what Opal did to you,"

"Foaly! We can talk about it later! He needs to eat if you haven't noticed," Holly said, glaring at the centaur.

"I know, but I need to figure out what's wrong with him! It could be life threatening, this is _Opal _we're talking about here!"

"It is in fact life threatening, very much so, but don't worry, I don't think Opal could get it to work," Artemis piped up.

"What do you mean Artemis?"

Artemis explained what Opal's plan was, and what she was making.

"So you're most likely okay?" asked Foaly when Artemis was finished.

"Yes, but we should still be wary of it.'

"So that stone thing prevents you from being healed? Is it supposed to hurt too?"

Artemis thought about all the times Opal tried to heal him. "No, I don't believe so."

"Then why did you yell at me to stop?"

"Well, Opal never used more than a few sparks. It might be uncomfortable in large quantities," Artemis said

Holly nodded. Artemis started coughing again, holding a fist to his mouth. When the fit passed, Holly gasped as she saw that there was blood on his hand.

"Artemis!" she shrieked. Butler grabbed a tissue and handed it to him. Artemis wiped his mouth and hand and took a gulp of water, choking on it. He started hacking again and more blood came out. There were tears in his eyes as the fit subsided. He wiped his mouth again, and clutched his burning throat.

"I think he has more than just a fever," said Foaly.

**...**

_You are more than aware of how this works. You read and review, and I wil write. My job is harder than your's._

_Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts! ^v^_

_Did you see something wrong? Anything at all? Please tell me in a (nice) review!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Look at what I'm doing to Arty here. I wouldn't be a very good owner, now would I?_

**...**

"Artemis, please just eat the crackers at least."

"No, I told you already, I'm not hungry."

"Yes you are! You didn't eat anything yesterday!"

"I didn't feel like it yesterday!"

"Is it even possible to leave you two in a room alone for a few minutes and not hear arguing all the way downstairs?"

Artemis and Holly looked up at Butler who had entered the room to break up their fight.

"He's refusing to eat Butler," said Holly glaring at Artemis, who glared right back.

"I'm not in the mood for food," he sniffed.

"Artemis, you need to eat," rumbled Butler.

"No." he said simply, glaring at his blanket. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

"Yes," countered Holly.

Artemis looked up glared at her "No."

"Yes."

"I will not argue this anymore. I am _not_ hungry, and I _will not_ be eating right now," Artemis growled.

"That's just what you said yesterday! But did you eat at all? No! _You need food_!" yelled Holly.

Artemis didn't even bother speaking. He was in a bad mood, and having a screaming contest with Holly wasn't helping.

"Ugh! Why are you so infuriating?" Holly screeched as she stormed out of the room.

"I'm going to sleep Butler. I might eat something when I wake up," Artemis said, scooting down from his position leaning on the pillows, and laying down. Butler sighed and walked out of the room.

When he reached the living room he saw Holly talking to Foaly. She was explaining to him how Artemis wouldn't eat anything. He sat down on the couch next to her.

"He hasn't eaten anything at all. He asked for food when he first woke up, but he didn't want to eat it. Do you think Opal's magic potion actually worked? Is that why he's not eating?" Holly asked worriedly.

"I don't know Holly, but keep an eye on him just in case. If it is working, then we'll need to bring him down to Haven," replied Foaly.

"Okay. Have you found out anything on the stone that Artemis described?" she asked.

"No. That stone doesn't exist as far as we know, but, this is Opal we're talking about and Artemis said he saw the rock with his own eyes. Unless he's mesmerized, it's best to believe him."

"I don't think he's mesmerized, he's too…normal," Holly said, thinking about their argument.

"Is he doing any better, you know, besides the fact that he refuses to eat?" Foaly asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," Butler replied. "He's asleep right now, he needed that. He hasn't slept much and when he does, he just wakes up coughing,"

The friends talked for a little then Foaly said he needed to go do some research for Artemis. Butler and Holly sat on the couch after Foaly had gone, not saying anything.

"So, where are the twins?" Holly asked after a while. She remembered that they were here, but she hadn't seen them around.

"Juliet's keeping them busy. They would usually be running around, but they've been pretty quiet; they still believe their brother isn't coming back."

Holly sighed. She left Butler on the couch and walked up the stairs. She quietly opened the door to Artemis' bedroom and walked in. Artemis was asleep, but didn't look too peaceful. He was frowning and his eyes bolted back and forth under his eyelids. She watched his troubled face for a while, sitting in the chair next to his bed, before she decided to wake him from his nightmare.

She shook his shoulder. He gasped and his eyelids flew open, giving him a slightly crazed expression. He swung his arm at Holly trying to ward off an attacker, and the IV needle attached to it yanked out of his right arm.

"Ouch!" he hissed, grabbing a bleeding wrist.

"Whoa, sorry," Holly said, raising her hands in surrender.

"You startled me," he said, trying to calm his racing heart. He had believed Opal was trying to get him again. His mind apparently didn't believe she was done with him yet.

"You want me to call Butler in to fix that?" she asked gently, pointing to this arm.

"Yes please,"

She ran back downstairs, finding Butler on the couch.

"Holly, what's wrong?" he asked standing up.

"Well, I woke Arty up from a nightmare and he freaked out, and that needle came out of his arm," she explained.

Butler nodded. "Whatever Opal did, it probably has him a bit on edge."

"Yeah, I think there is a little more damage than he's letting on."

Artemis had calmed down by the time Holly and Butler entered the room. Butler replaced the needle with a new one and stuck it back in his charge's arm.

"Thank you, Butler," he said, rubbing his sore right arm.

"Are you okay Artemis?" Butler asked, inspecting his charge.

"Well, I feel fine right now, just tired." His friends nodded and left the room again, leaving him to sleep.

He didn't really feel fine though. He had a headache, it felt uncomfortable to breathe, and his stomach felt hollow and twisted. The leg that had been broken -which had been fixed by the doctor and put in a cast- was aching. The rest of the pains he couldn't pinpoint. He was pretty sure everything hurt; he felt like he had been run over by a steamroller.

He was positive this was because of Opal, and that he was dying at a quicker rate than normal. Opal had apparently planned for it to be painful too. He curled up in a ball and fell asleep.

…

"Arty? Are you awake?"

Artemis opened his eyes to see Holly sitting in the chair next to his bed. She had been reading something and put the book on the bedside table when the boy had stirred.

"Yes, I'm awake."

"How do you feel?"

"Well, better than before, though I still feel ill."

Holly got up from the chair and felt his forehead. "Hmm, you're warm, you do have a fever. Do you feel like eating yet?"

"Yes, I do feel a bit hungry now."

"Okay, I'll go tell Butler," she left the room and ran down the stairs for the thousandth time that day. _Wow, am I getting some good exercise or what?_ She thought.

"Hey Butler, Artemis is awake and he says he's hungry," she said as she walked into the kitchen.

"That's good, how is he?" the giant said as he started preparing something.

"He has a fever, but other than that he says he's fine."

Holly stayed with Butler until he was finished with Artemis' food and then brought it up to him.

"Arty? Butler asked me to take your temperature," she asked as she entered his room.

He sighed. "Very well."

She set the food down and looked at the device in her hand. She didn't know exactly how to work it, but it looked simple. She pressed the button and watched the little screen come on. It counted down from three and then held it out to Artemis. He took it and stuck it in his mouth, under his tongue.

Holly plucked it from his mouth when it started beeping.

"103 degrees Fahrenheit. That doesn't sound like a good temperature."

"It's not," he said closing his eyes.

"Are you well enough to eat?" He hadn't eaten in a day, maybe more. Instead of answering, he just sat up and held his hands out. Holly handed him the soup, feeling a lot better when he started eating.

He was halfway done with his meal when he stopped eating and put a hand over his mouth.

"Artemis, are you okay?" Holly asked.

He shook his head and closed his eyes.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he mumbled around his hand.

Holly looked around the room franticly, and spotted a little trash bin. She grabbed it and replaced the soup in his lap for it. Nothing happened for a second; then the ill boy vomited into the bin. Holly wrinkled her nose.

Artemis suddenly groaned and clutched his stomach.

"Artemis?"

"I'm fine, just a bit nauseated," which was a lie. He knew he wouldn't be able to eat much because his stomach was not able to digest as well as it had before.

Holly sat in the chair and watched Artemis until he straightened up in the bed and wiped his mouth on his arm.

"Thank you Holly for not letting me ruin my sheets," he said after a moment.

"No problem. You think you can eat some more?"

He shook his head, leaning it back on the headboard and closing his eyes. "Eating would not be a good idea right now; it would only make it worse."

Holly nodded. She didn't know much about human illnesses. Fairies don't get fevers. She suddenly snapped her head up at a faint noise.

"What's that?" she asked, looking around. Artemis looked at her, confused.

"What's what?" he asked.

"I heard something, it wasn't very loud but I definitely heard it." she got up from her chair, reaching for a Neutrino, only to find that she didn't have it with her human clothes. _D'arvit! What now?_

"Can you still hear it?" Artemis whispered.

"No it- wait! There it was again! Did you hear it?" she whispered and spun around to face the door. It sounded like it was coming from outside the partially open door.

Artemis nodded as he stared at the door. Try as he might he couldn't place the noise. He felt dread boil in the pit of his stomach. What if it was Opal? Holly was weaponless and he couldn't do much in his current state. He stopped breathing when the expensive door started to ease open, revealing…

A cat.

Holly and Artemis stared in wide eyed shock at the orange tabby cat as he slinked past the door and into the room. He rubbed on the edge of the bed, emitting a faint and rather odd sound that could be considered a "meow".

"A cat? When did you get a cat?" Holly asked incredulously as the creature rubbed against her legs, friendly black eyes looking up at her.

"I…I wasn't aware we _had_ a cat. Someone must have gotten it when I was gone…" Artemis said slowly.

Holly curiously looked up at her friend. His expression was priceless. He was staring in wonder at the cat as it jumped up on the bed and rubbed against his chest. He gently ran a hand along his new pet's back, ending at the soft, cream colored fluff on his tail. The creature purred contently and lay down next to him.

"Aw, he likes you," Holly smiled as she sat down on the edge of his bed and rubbed the cat's head.

"Yes, it would appear so. I wonder what possessed my family to get a cat," Artemis mused.

"It was actually Beckett's fault we have him," Two heads snapped up to see Butler at the door.

"Beckett was outside a few weeks ago and that cat wandered up to him. He convinced Mrs. Fowl to keep him. He's taken pretty good care of him so far; he feeds him everyday and he bathed him yesterday. His name is Leo."

"And here I thought Beckett wanted a dog," said Artemis.

"He'll take any living thing for a pet. Anyways, I came up here to see if you had eaten everything," Butler said.

"No, unfortunately my stomach could not handle all the food," Artemis said, grimacing.

"Yeah, it's all in that bin right there," Holly wrinkled her nose, stepping away from the bin.

"Hmm… how do you feel?"

Artemis pretended to think about the question while tapping his chin with a finger. "A bit peckish and I really need to use the restroom."

Butler helped Artemis out of the bed and over to the bathroom where he insisted that no, Butler didn't need to help him beyond the door. Holly hadn't even thought about him needing help to do things like answering the call of nature; she had assumed he went when no one was in the room. She hadn't even noticed the cast on his leg before. She didn't like it, it made him look vulnerable.

"Why doesn't he have crutches? Isn't that what mud men use to help them get around with broken legs?" Holly asked Butler.

"Yes, but where is he going to go besides the bathroom? I want him to stay in the bed unless absolutely necessary."

…

"Well, what now?"

"Hmm, would you like to play some chess?"

"Chess? No way, you would crème me even if I knew how to play. How about checkers? At least I have a chance at that."

It had been a week since Artemis had been found, and He and Holly had run out of things to talk about and to entertain themselves. The week had been uneventful. Foaly had done some experimenting and discovered that Opal's anti-magic stone was a cross between normal lava rocks and an anti-magic serum. Myles and Beckett had been told that their brother was back from the dead and Mr. and Mrs. Fowl were supposed to be back today. They had already been told that Artemis was actually alive and were on their way now.

"Alright, there's a checker board in that bottom drawer there," Artemis pointed to the appropriate drawer. Holly got it out and set it up on the bed between them.

"So, besides playing chess and plotting against the world, what else do you do for fun?" Holly asked after she made the first move.

"I don't plot against the world… anymore, but I do play the piano occasionally," he paused as a coughing fit overcame him. He had been coughing relentlessly. Thankfully there was no blood this time. "Though I haven't played for a while now," he continued.

"Let me guess, Beethoven, Mozart, and you don't even need the sheets to play huh?"

"You would be correct."

"I know of a really hard song called the Death Waltz which I would absolutely _love _to see _you_ play," Holly giggled. (A/n: you should listen to the song and imagine Artemis playing it!)

"I accept your challenge. Maybe I can play for you after this game?"

Holly agreed and got in a few good moves before Artemis annihilated her.

"So, shall we go?" Artemis asked as he grabbed the crutches next to his bed (which he had only gained through persistent arguing with Butler)

"Actually, you're not going anywhere. You need to see this," said Butler, turning on the TV.

"_There have been thousands of deaths so far, and the detectives say they all died of simultaneous organ failure. Detectives on the case first thought it was a mass murder using poison, but they now think it is actually an unidentified virus causing the deaths. We have been told it originated in southern Ireland and has spread to other countries, possibly over seas. Officials have ordered quarantine for the whole country and no cure has been found at this time," _said the reporter on screen. It switched back to the anchors and Butler muted it.

"Is this what you were talking about? This was all caused by Opal?" Butler asked his charge.

"Yes, unfortunately this is exactly what Opal planned," Artemis replied sullenly. He coughed again.

"Artemis, I still think you should go down to Haven. You told me yourself that Opal's stuff is working,"

"Yes but at a slower rate because she used something different on me," he explained.

"But it's still working, and what if you end up like those people on TV sooner than you think? It's an unknown substance and could be completely unpredictable!"

"Artemis, I think you should go down to Haven too. Foaly could find a cure," Butler said gently.

"Alright, I will go, but after I see my parents."

"Fair enough, I'm going to go tell Foaly," Holly said, going back to her own room.

Artemis' parents arrived home an hour after Holly told Foaly and Trouble that Artemis was coming underground. They explained as best they could about the situation to Mr. and Mrs. Fowl, and they allowed Artemis to go underground to assist his friends in stopping the destruction of the world.

Butler was not allowed to come. Instead, Artemis made him stay to further bug-proof the manor (it was a miracle none of the flies spreading the disease had made it in).

"You know, you look even worse up close," said an ever blunt Foaly when Holly and Artemis had arrived at his Ops booth in Haven.

"Thank you Foaly for that observation, and yes, I imagine I do," replied Artemis as he ducked under the doorway.

"Anytime. Now Holly, you'll stay in here while I do a few tests on Artemis."

"What exactly are you going to do to him?"

"Don't worry, Holly, your mud boy will be perfectly safe in my capable hands," Foaly remarked. "I'll have him back in an hour; we're just right over there in that lab."

Artemis was shuffled out before Holly had time to argue. She sat down, wondering what she would do for an hour. After a full sixty minutes of pacing and nail biting, she walked over to the lab Foaly said he'd be in and banged on the door.

"Alright Holly, you can come in now that the bad part is over." Holly looked around the pristine lab.

"What was the bad part? Where's Artemis?"

"The bad part was a booth I fixed up that would read any magical waves, big or small. I was hoping I could find that rock, but all I got were echoes of magic," he explained. Holly frowned.

"I don't see how that's bad."

"He had to remove his clothing. Not just shirt and pants, but _everything_. Let me just say Orion wasn't lying about the birthmark," he said grimacing.

"Oh. I'm sure there's a perfectly scientific explanation for why he had to strip down, and I don't want to hear it. On to the next question," she said, blushing.

"He's in the other room right now, I just have to finish one more thing and then you can see him."

"Why can't I watch now? What is it you're doing?"

"Nothing, just…stay," he said, backing up into a different room. Holly immediately got up as the door hissed shut and pressed a pointy ear to it. She heard nothing at first, and then...

"Ow!" She jumped back, startled by the sudden yelling. That was definitely Artemis who yelled. What under the world was Foaly doing to him?

"Foaly!" she yelled, banging on the door. "Let me in!"

The door opened a crack; not enough for her to fit through, but enough for her to see that Artemis was fully clothed. She burst past Foaly, interrupting him. Artemis sat on the edge of a table, looking a little surprised.

"What did you do?" Holly asked the centaur.

"I would like to know that too," Artemis said calmly. He coughed again into his elbow.

Foaly gave a guilty smile. "Well, he was unconscious, so I just used a buzz baton to wake him up," he said. "There are other ways, but this one was the fastest."

"Well, now that all of that is over, I would very much like something to eat," hopping down from the table.

"That sounds good, I can take you to my favorite restaurant," Foaly said, chatting on as if nothing had happened.

"Hey Foaly, you said Artemis had a birthmark?" Holly asked later when she got a moment alone. Her friend snickered.

"Yep, on his hip, it's shaped like a bunny rabbit!"

**...**

Hey guys! Look who's back! After a major (as in, potentially fatal) case of writer's block and some technical difficulties, my imagination spit this out for me to work with! So there ya go. I don't know if I'll have the next one up soon, but i hope it's sooner than this one. School is over so I have more time, but my computer is still jacked up.

I hope you like my story so far (Artemis certainly doesn't. I write in fear that Butler will...pay me a visit) For everyone who's actually reading this, I've got a cute little one-shot about the younger days of Artemis. A little cliche, I know, but I honestly couldn't help it. I will have it up soon, so keep an eye out 'kay?

Thank you my awesome, wonderful reviewers and to those who favorited me or my story and to those who put me on alert!


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